Conceptualizing organizational discourse as situated symbolic action

Abstract

This article presents a conceptualization of organizational discourse as situated symbolic action, drawing from the fields of speech act theory, rhetoric, ethnography of communication and social constructionism. This conceptualization is illustrated through analysis of an episode of negotiated order accessed through an organization development intervention; a meeting of senior managers of Systech, a major IT organization, to decide on a new business model. This perspective helps to respond to some of the key challenges facing the organizational discourse field in terms of developing more clearly specified conceptualizations of discourse suited to the organizational level of analysis, achieving a more holistic and discourse-sensitive understanding of empirical contexts by organizational researchers, and illustrating that organizational discourse analysis is not simply an intellectual luxury but can have pragmatic, relevant implications.

Understanding Shifting Power Relations within and across Organizations: A Critical Genre Analysis

“…In organizations, discourse includes a complex array of texts such as job titles, policies, procedures, and methodologies (Phillips, Lawrence, & Hardy, 2004). Adopting a view that discourse is "situated symbolic action" (Heracleous & Marshak, 2004), we can see how shaping and reshaping such texts through discursive practices constitutes the core of organizational life (Weick, 1987). This is especially the case in management consulting where discourse is the primary means through which work is performed.…”

-Discourses of leadership change or changes of leadership discourse?

“…assertive, declaratives, expressive, directives, commissives), many studies on organisational discourse have focused particularly on directives or speech acts meant to bring about a particular state of affairs (Hill and Jones 1992; Heracleous and Marshak 2004). As the present analysis will show, the speech acts used in CEO leadership discourses tend to display a much greater diversity and multi-functionality.…”

Untangling a Web of Lies: Exploring Automated Detection of Deception in Computer-Mediated Communication

“…Beyond micro-level cues, we draw on conceptualizations of macro-level speech acts [40] to identify cohesiveness in message development as a first, higher-order linguistic predictor of deception severity in CMC. In our study, severely deceptive business partners structured their argumentation excessively, perhaps to remove doubt and avoid detection.…”

“…In sum, even though speech act theory has laid the groundwork for understanding deception as actions situated at multiple levels, empirical evidence for this has essentially remained at the micro level of (combinations of) words [40]. Thus, a comprehensive model is overdue not only to advance knowledge on deception (severity) detection per se but also to complement speech act theory.…”